Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey spoke candidly after Friday’s 117-115 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “Offensively, I think we did a pretty good job. Myself and Joel’s two-man game was really good. They started to trap me, tried to throw it to Joel, then we went to VJ. Got some pretty good looks,” Maxey said.
Maxey acknowledged the challenge of defending Jaylon Tyson. “Defensively, they made some tough shots. Tyson had a really good game. We were getting the ball out of Donovan’s hands, and he made us pay,” he explained.
When asked about Cleveland’s defensive approach over the two games, Maxey noted, “They do a good job on all my ball screens. Even coming off the screen with Joel, Jarrett Allen’s guarding him, I’m just stringing him out and throwing it back to Joel. I missed some good looks tonight.”
Maxey admitted the Cavaliers present one of the league’s tougher matchups. “As of right now, it looks like it. We’re 0-3 versus them, and we try different ways to figure out their double-big and double-guard lineups. It’s been difficult to beat them,” he said.
On balancing help defense on Donovan Mitchell with containing Tyson, Maxey explained, “It’s a fine line. We treated tonight like a playoff game. Sometimes you just make somebody else beat you, and he made shots, played really well.”
The absence of Darius Garland did not alter Philadelphia’s offensive approach. “It didn’t really change much. We played our game, a lot of two-man game and different actions. Not worried about DG not playing,” Maxey said.
Maxey also addressed VJ Edgecombe’s limited scoring. “My biggest thing with him is every transition, if he gets a one-on-one opportunity, I want him to go. Doesn’t matter the outcome. He’s just getting better at being aggressive,” he said.
Reflecting on the team’s season-long challenges in closing games, Maxey added, “We’ve had plenty of them slip away this year, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto. Those hurt, but we’ve got 42 more games. Can’t dwell on it.”
The 76ers fell behind despite strong individual performances. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 33 points, while Maxey added 22 points, nine assists, and five steals. Cleveland’s Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 39 points, with Donovan Mitchell contributing 13 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds.
Philadelphia drops to 22-18, while Cleveland improves to 24-19. Both teams return to action Monday, as the Cavaliers host the Thunder and the 76ers visit the Pacers.
